European Patent Publication No. 0,517,538 indicates that tire performance characteristics on ice and snow can be improved by incorporating resin-composite particulates of syndiotactic-1,2-polybutadiene and carbon black into tire tread formulations. European Patent Publication No. 0,517,537 also reports that tire performance characteristics on ice can be improved by such a technique. European Patent Publication No. 0,517,538 indicates that such resin-composite particulates can be made by kneading the syndiotactic-1,2-polybutadiene and the carbon black together in a laboratory plastomill at a temperature which is higher than the melting point of the syndiotactic-1,2-polybutadiene. However, such a mixing technique would be difficult to implement on a commercial scale.